Banjo



' (No Model.)

J. MAIBERGER.

BANJO.

No. 324.569. Patented Aug. 18,1885.

n W n s fi I s I lll'lllll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BANJO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 324,569, dated August 18, 1885 Application filed May 536, 1884. {No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEROME MAIBERGER, a

I citizen of the United States, residing at Strat-' ford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Banjos; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain novel'and useful improvements in banj 0s; and it has for its object to furnish such an instrument as shall be simple in its construction, and which shall possess great resonance and clearness of tone; and with these ends in view my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinfter fully and in detail explained, and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may more fully understand its construction and operations, and how to make and use the same, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan View of the sounding-box of my improvement with the head and rim removed; Fig. 2, asection taken through the line was, and Fig. 3 a plan view of the tailpiece. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the banjo at line 4 I, Fig. 1.

Similar letters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

A is the sounding-box constructed of an y desired material, and having extending through the same the shaft B, as in ordinary banjos.

C are posts glued or otherwise secured to the bottom and sides of the sounding-box, and adapted to support the circular rim of wood, D,which fits within the box and rests upon them. Screws Epass through said rim and secure it to said posts.

Mounted upon the upper face of the rim D is a wooden rim, F, over which the head. G is stretched by means of a wire, II, in its edge, and a metal hoop, I, as is ordinarily done in the construction of instruments of this description.

J are brackets, whose upper ends are adapted to hold over the edge of thehoop I, and whose lower ends,threaded externally, extcndldownward through the rim I) and are provided with nits K, by means of which the head is tightened.

. L is an ornamental band of metal fastened to the upper edge of the sounding-box, and adapted to cover the opening between the inner edge of the box and the outer edge of the rim D.

M is a tail-piece, which is constructed of thin sheet metal by slotting one end and bending the teeth over a wire, N, around which the strings of the banjo may be readily tied. The tail-piece is fastened to the lower end of the shaft Bloya screw or othersuitablc means, as seen at Fig. 4.

In assembling my invention the rim F is first fastened upon rim D. ,The head is placed in position and drawn by means of the brackets to its proper tension. It is then placed within the sounding-box and secured at its points of contact with the posts by means of the screws E. The ornamental band of metal, L, is then fastened to the edge of the box, which. gives to the banjo an ornamental appearance and covers up the opening which would otherwise appear around the outside of the rim.

By the construction of my improved banjo the head, rims, and brackets are fastened and secured together independent of the sounding-box, and may be readily removed, as in one piece, by the removal of the screws which fasten it to the posts within the sounding-box. The closed back gives great resonance of tone to the instrument, and the unsightly brackets and nuts are so placed within the body of the banjo as to leave only the head, the ornamental band of metal, and the upper ends of the brackets exposed to view.

By the use of the tail-piece described it is unnecessary, as in the pierced tail-pieces ordinarily in use, to remove the string from the peg at the upper end of the arm when, by the breakage of a string, a new fastening of the broken end to the tail-piece is rendered necessary, for the end may be simply slipped through the proper opening and tied around the bar. In my improvement I do not wish to be understood as laying claim to a banjo ICO having a closed sounding box behind the head, for I am well aware that sue-h a construction is, broadly, old; but

XVhat Ido claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with asounding-box, the double rim, having thereon the head and supported upon blocks secured within said box and held thereto by screws passing through the lower rim, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the sounding-box A, of the double rim F D, upon which is stretched the head by means of brackets J set upon blocks set within the sounding-box, substantially as set forth.

JEROME M AIBE RG ER.

Witnesses:

S. S. XViLLIAMsoN, H. T. STErnENs. 

